


Celtic challenge of murder ballads, song 2, part 9

by AzureAngel2



Series: "I will never marry", a series of Sheev Palpatine vignettes [9]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Coruscant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 21:38:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13420158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzureAngel2/pseuds/AzureAngel2
Summary: Summary: Power, unlimited power comes with a price. Especially to those, who opened up themselves to the glory of the dark side. Because there is no place for love. And darkness is full of false promises and betrayal.Time frame: 19 BBYPlanet of choice: CoruscantDisclaimer: SW is owned by George Lucas, Lucas Ltd. and now The Walt Disney Company





	Celtic challenge of murder ballads, song 2, part 9

**Story 9:** “The days of my life”

There is dry blood on your face. It sticks to the corners of your mouth, and has even flown out of your nostrils and your ears. This is but a small inconvenience for you.

The Aorth-6 virus, unleashed by traitorous Gentis, must have wiped out about seventy members of your entourage – clone troopers, Royal Red Guards, storm troopers and Imperial officers.

You snarl.

Without the mercy and sustenance of the dark side of the Force, you would have not survived this vile terrorist attack. Your sheer willpower has kept the deadly virus at bay, while everybody else around you melted from the inside out with liquefied lungs. If the situation had not been so dire, you would have cheered about so much blood and gore.

The Clone Wars veteran Trachta, aided by Lord Vader, has brought you into safety. To a place that was only known to you.

Inside a stasis chamber you have been left to rest, fighting the battle of your life. Hour after hour. Now you are the sole winner. Not the biologically engineered necrotic virus. Yet you do not feel glorious.

You should have foreseen this attack. Why have you failed despite all your dark powers? You are not the Sith lord you are supposed to be. Something small, seemingly insignificant, is holding you back. You cannot imagine what it is.

One of Nagina’s little chants comes into your mind. She usually sings it during household cores.

_“Sage and crone, sage and crone,_   
_Wisdom’s gift shall be our own._   
_Crone and sage, crone and sage,_   
_Wisdom is the gift of age.”_

Wisdom.

You are the former apprentice of Darth Plagueis the Wise. But never before have you drawn back into safety. It was never an option. Just this once, you had no choice. Your life depended on it. And not only your own. Your death would have fallen on Nagina like an anvil and crushed her underneath. Some of your enemies know who she is, due to chatty Sate.

When Gentis is punished alongside the rebel scum who helped him, you will put the old viper back in line, too.

“Sate, I should have never made you Nagina’s god father.”

He has been entirely unworthy of your darling niece from the very beginning.

You open the lid of your stasis chamber and fresh air floods your tormented lungs.

For a brief moment, you think of Naboo, the home world you have come to loath. There was this meadow in the Lake Country where your niece loved to go. Perhaps you should take a couple of days off and bring her there.

It has been too long that you were with Nagina in person. You have reached an age were you should better plan the remaining days of your life.

You nod to yourself.

Until now, you have always put your plans of power and dominion first. You can never make up for what is lost. It is foolish to think otherwise. Some quality time with Nagina would do you good though.

Vader is a bore, not meeting any of your expectations and the newly founded Imperial Council annoys you even more. But this is not the right moment to replace any of them. There will be better occasions.

You pull your hood back on your bald head.

Suddenly, you notice that there is something wrong. It is not the dried blood in your face and on your robes. Or your location.

You place a hand on your chest.

“No,” you whisper. “This can’t be.”

Nagina had been alive during the attack. You had felt her in the Force as usual. A friendly spark of light in the dark night of your soul.

With all your might you reach out for her, but only silence answers you.

Trembling, you lean against the cold steel.

This can’t be happening!

The universe collapses around you like a pile of cold ash.

With heavy steps you walk forward.

There is an ultimate price every Sith has to pay. You avoided it as long as possible. But deep inside you knew that day would come. And here it is. The dark side will not be betrayed.

“She is gone,” you say to yourself.

Master Yoda, the old spoil sport, once told Skywalker in a private conversation, “Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not! Miss them do not! Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed that is. Train yourself to let go of everything that you fear to lose.”

All your schemes to protect Nagina, even involving Krennic, have proven to be pointless.

You will need somebody to fetch her corpse for you. She will be granted a funeral service here on Coruscant worthy of an Empress. Finally, the galaxy will come to know who she was and how much she meant to you. Then you will let everybody pay for her death. Higher taxes, more draft calls to fill up your army, a harsher punishment for crimes against your person. They deserve. You deserve it.

You will bleed them out, the citizens of your Empire.

The military will not have reason to be cheerful either. Everybody will end up broken. For hope is gone. It died with her.

With new determination you make it to the location where you can feel Vader. Your apprentice is inside a huge hangar and, as ever when it comes to him, there is fighting.

Briefly, you take time to notice Imperial cadets and the convicts of 'Ghost Prison'. But those are details that have no true meaning to you. Not right now. There is unfinished business.

You walk forward to a kneeling person. It is Headmaster Gentis, cradling his dead son Caul.

The general has his way of moaning and you certainly have your own. With a grin you unleash all that you feel and direct it straight at Nagina’s murderer.

_“Your reign is over, Headmaster!”_ you inform him as your lightning bolts fry him into oblivion.

While you do so, tears stream over your face. But they are not tears of sorrow. They are signs of your joy. Ugly laughter bubbles out of you at the same time.

Willingly or not, you have sacrificed your niece. The dark side seems to have accepted your offer. Now you can be the Sith that you need to be and there will be no holding back. Never again.

**Author's Note:**

> Sources:  
> The song “I never will marry”, the version of Heather Dale  
> A Wiccan chant  
> Speech of Master Yoda from the movie “Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith” (2005)  
> Words from Emperor Palpatine from “Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison” a five-issue comic book miniseries from Dark Horse Comics, written by Haden Blackman (2012)  
> Wookieepedia – The Star Wars Wiki  
> Jedipedia, a free German Star Wars-Encyclopaedia


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